


Marry Me

by PerriewinkleNerdie



Category: Open Heart (Visual Novels)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:41:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23896966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerriewinkleNerdie/pseuds/PerriewinkleNerdie
Summary: Her family can see right through him, even if she herself can't (part 2 of Heat in the rain)
Relationships: Ethan Ramsey/Main Character (Open Heart)
Kudos: 21





	Marry Me

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, hello, hello! Are you guys good? Are you kicking ass or are you kicking ass?   
> It's part 2 time. I had to rewrite it because my dumbass of a memory forgot that I already mentioned a few things that went down or are a part of this fic, so naturally, I had to go back and change things up a bit.  
> Enjoy! <3

“I should probably warn you that my family is almost certainly waiting for us.” She spoke up after he turned the radio off, deciding that he wouldn’t stand any more of the songs. He smiled at her, completely unaware of what she meant.

“I would expect that, since we are pretty late.” He swiped his index finger along the line of her cheekbone, caressing her skin tenderly. She burst out laughing, her shoulders shaking as she drove into a narrow pathway in the woods.

“I didn’t phrase that correctly, let me try again. They’re standing by the window, watching the driveway for when we arrive. I can also bet you that my uncle has binoculars in his hand and my cousin has a bottle of whiskey on the table already.” She giggled, focusing fully on the road ahead of them. Slowly, a house came into the view, light flowing from the windows and illuminating the front porch.

Just like she predicted, right there, in the window of the living room, she spotted three people. Then five. Someone was jumping behind the little crowd that with every passing second was becoming not so little, new faces appearing every time she blinked.

“Exactly how many people should I expect to tackle me? I swear to god, they are multiplying.” He muttered under his breath, exhaling deeply when she turned the engine off.

“When I was leaving, there were five people in the house. As you can clearly see, that’s not the case anymore. Don’t worry though, they’re not going to kill you.”

“That’s not very comforting, you know.” He admitted, turning to look at her. Her eyes were already roaming his face, concern and pure, unconditional love. She reached out with her hand, ruffling his hair slightly.

“I love you, and so do they. Even if they don’t know it yet.” She whispered, pulling him into a lingering kiss that left him just a bit lightheaded. His hands flew to her sides, massaging her skin slowly, praying that her family couldn’t see them through the darkness of the night.

After a while, he nodded and got out of the car, rushing to her side. Wanting to humor him, she waited for him to open her door, standing on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek as she murmured a teasing ‘thank you’.

Before they could even think about getting his suitcase out of the car, the front door flew open and a little girl began running towards Claire at full speed. She leaned down, catching and twirling her in the air as they both laughed.

“You’re back!” the little girl exclaimed, wrapping her arms around Claire’s neck in a vice-like grip. She ruffled the brown hair on her little head, nodding.

“Sorry it took us so long, the rain was awful. That reminds me, where is your coat, young lady? You’re going to get sick.” The blonde apologized, pulling her own jacket away from her body and wrapping it around them both so neither of them got cold.

“That’s okay, you’re a doctor!” then her attention shifted onto Ethan, who eyed both girls with a blank expression that Claire saw right through. There was panic in his eyes, she knew that look of his well. Trying to ease his nerves, she smiled at him encouragingly. “Are you a doctor too?”

“I am, yes.” He answered, trying to keep his voice from shaking. The girl nodded, looking between him and Claire for a short while before asking.

“Are you going to get married?”

The silence that followed was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. His eyes widened, blood rushed to his cheeks, making him as red as a tomato and Claire just laughed.

“Lara, you better run to your mother before I tickle you.” she whispered, letting her stand on her own to the ground, and as soon as her feet touched the grass, the girl ran away with a scream. Claire looked back at Ethan, noticing how he was about to suffocate from holding his breath. “Hey, calm down. She’s not going to make you propose tonight, she’s just at that age. If she hadn’t asked now, and she saw us kissing later, she might have thought we were already married.”

He let out the air from his lungs, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her to his side, his lips brushing against her hairline.

“Claire, come on! Don’t freeze the guy!” a male voice called from the porch, making their head snap towards the sound.

“Will, don’t you want to see if you’re not somewhere else?” she shot back, shaking her head. Ethan already knew that she was talking to her brother, since they met before, but it was only a few people that he knew in a sea of people that were yet to make up an opinion about him.

Will ran up to them, tackling Ethan with a hug, slapping his hand against his back. A relieved laugh escaped the older doctor, his nerves easing a bit. Claire’s brother took care of Ethan’s suitcase, carrying it into the house while Claire wrapped her hand around her boyfriend’s arm, squeezing gently.

They got hit with a wave of warmth as soon as they stepped through the threshold. It was eerily quiet for just a moment. Claire’s hold on him tightened, hoping to let him wordlessly know that it would be okay. Then, the door shut behind them, and it was like a spell being broken.

Excited cheers erupted from every direction, a dozen of people jumping to their side and pulling them into tight hugs. Ethan hadn’t expected to be welcomed so warmly, with such openness. Like they already knew him, accepted him into their family. He caught Claire’s eyes as he passed her to reach her Mom, and she winked at him, almost like she wanted to say ‘I told you so’.

Turns out, she was right about more than him being accepted and them waiting for them in the window. When Will led him to the living room, he saw binoculars on the table, and a bottle of aged whiskey, along with a couple of glasses next to it. Looking back into the kitchen, he saw his girlfriend being handed a glass of wine by her sister, Louise.

“It’s not that I want to tease you about it, but I’m going to tease you about it. I have _never_ , in my entire life, seen anyone more in love with someone than you two. It’s poetic, really.” Will grinned widely, watching how Ethan shifted in his seat. It was at this point that they were joined by Claire and Will’s Father, Ryan, and Daniel, their uncle. The four men sat on the couch, nursing their drinks and talking quietly.

“Dad, I’m going to put you on the spot. What do you think about Ethan here?” Will spoke up again, leaning back with satisfaction. He was met with a stern look from his father and a laughter followed by a clap from his uncle.

“William, that is not polite. But regardless…” Ryan scolded his son, then turned to face Ethan. “I want you to know that I’ve never seen her so happy before. You’re a good man, Ethan, I’m glad she has you. Hell, you could say you want to marry her right now and I would give you my blessing, right here, right now.”

Blood drained from his face at yet another mention of marriage. He gripped his glass tighter, unsure what to say in that situation. What made everyone suddenly decide that they were going to get married?

“Ryan, you’re going to make him suffocate, give a man some room to breathe!” Daniel laughed, patting Ethan on his knee. He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a quiet tone. “Don’t worry, they are all like that on this side of the family. As I’m sure you know, since Claire is exactly the same.” That made Ethan laugh, nodding his head as they both looked towards the short blonde, stirring something in the pot.

“She is a straight-to-the-point person, and don’t I know it.”

“Hey, hey, hey! All of you, leeches, back off my man. I’d like to cherish him for a bit longer before he runs away.” Her voice sounded above their heads all of a sudden, and then she waved her hands at her family, making them back away from him. As soon as there was some space around him, she sat in Ethan’s lap, wrapping one arm around his neck and stroking his hair gently, holding her glass with the other. He held her in his embrace, relieved that the interrogation, as amusing as it was, has ended. Her words rang in his head, finally settling in with what they meant, and he pulled her closer to him, pressing his lips to her ear.

“Bold of you to assume that I’m even able to run away. I’m not sure I know how to leave you. You’re stuck with me, for better or worse.” His voice was smooth and deep, laced with so many emotions that for a moment she thought he was crying. He wasn’t, but the intensity of his stare when their eyes met prompted her to lean in and capture his lips with hers in a longing kiss.

“Get a room!” Will exclaimed, then whistled teasingly. Silene, his aunt, sneaked up on him and pinched his neck, scolding him for acting like a child.

“You’re going to get your rights revoked if you don’t start acting like an adult.” She spoke with a bit of a French accent. Ethan faintly recalled Claire saying that her Mother’s side of the family was from or living in France, hence Aunt Silene’s accent.

“Just like when you were twenty!” the blonde sitting in his embrace laughed, then took a sip of her wine.

Soon enough, the whole family was gathered by the table, having already eaten dinner and now enjoying the drinks. They fell into the comfort of conversation, reminiscing about the past and talking about the future. Lucrecia stood up from the table with a mischievous smile, going towards the cabinet in the corner of the room. Claire’s eyes widened, shaking her head in panic.

“Mom, no.”

“Mom, _yes”_

Ethan’s confusion was soon to be resolved when he was handed a thick book. As soon as he opened it, he was met with a photo of a smiling woman, holding a little girl, wrapped in a blanket. His eyes searched for any signs as to who he was looking at, but one look at his girlfriend told him all he needed to know.

“You were adorable.” He noted, flipping the pages, finding more and more photos. Hearing her gasp, he looked up, only to find her face twisted in mock shock.

“So you’re saying I’m not adorable anymore?” she asked, trying to raise a reaction out of him. He could faintly hear Will making a sound of failure.

“You’re beautiful now, Claire. Breathtaking. Stunning.” He told her, not so quietly, very much aware that everyone was listening to him. All he cared about was the smile that lit up Claire’s face, and a blush that colored her cheeks. He kissed her forehead, lacing their fingers under the table.

“Nice save.”

“This is exactly why you are single, Will.” Lara noted without looking up from her bowl of ice cream. The room fell silent, all the eyes on the ten-year-old. And then the cries of laughter roared in the room.

Ethan glanced around the table, taking in all the different personalities. They were all their own people, all had their dreams and hopes, their goals in life. But first and foremost, they were a family. They had each other’s backs, through thin and thick, with unconditional love. Ethan had seen love his parents had for each other once upon a time, but it’s been so long ago, and it’s been difficult for him to believe that he could possibly have something so beautiful in his life.

And then Claire knocked his life upside down and left him no choice but to let her love him. Let her family love him and make it impossible for him not to love them in return. Impossible for him not to love her.

Hours later, they began cleaning up and getting ready to head to bed. Claire left with her Mom so they could get the beds ready for everyone, and Ethan stayed behind. He was sitting alone with his empty cup of tea in his hand, deep in his thoughts. Suddenly, he felt a pair of eyes staring at him, and sure enough, there was Aunt Silene, watching him with an unreadable expression. Without saying a word to him, she went around the couch and sat down next to him.

“I remember when Anaïs was younger, she always talked about you and your work. You were her hero, though, I suppose, you still are.” She mused, looking ahead at the sight outside the window, even though she couldn’t really see anything. The mention of an unknown name sparked his interest.

“Anaïs?”

“It’s her second name. Lucrecia and I always liked it, but her and Ryan both decided that she needed something more…”

“British?” he helped, smiling softly as he played with the name in his mind. Clarissa Anaïs Herondale. A nice ring to it, indeed.

“Exactly. It was a good choice on their part, it definitely offered her more freedom in a sense.”

Eventually, Claire came to get him, both of them saying goodnight and heading towards their room. Before she let him in, she leaned against the door with a smirk.

“Are you ready to see the most amazing room ever?” she bit her lip, catching his eye, and then pushed on the handle to let them in.

Ethan remained silent as he stood by the entrance, taking it all in. The room was exactly how he imagined it to be, with every detail matching every part of her. A piano was a new piece of information, and he made a mental note to ask her to play him something, but that could wait.

She watched him explore, filling in the blanks for him when he asked. It was refreshing, to let him see the intimate details of her that filled in the picture he had of her. While he continued his research, she wandered towards the window, staring at the sky. Stars were just beginning to peak through the darkness as the clouds cleared. Heat rolled down her back as he stood behind her, running his hand up and down her arm.

“I couldn’t help but think that I might not be a subtle as I think I am.” He said quietly, pressing a kiss to her shoulder. Unsure of what his words meant exactly, she looked up, her eyes meeting his in the reflection in the window. “First Lara, then your Father. I need to work on that.”

“I told you, you are terrible at being subtle. And I also told you not to worry. They were joking.” She grinned in triumph, her eyes gaining a playful spark.

“But I’m not.” He whispered, hugging her delicately, as though she was made of glass. Fragile, but strong. His to protect, but capable of defending herself. “Marry me.”

Her body went stiff, her eyes widening. Shock was evident on her face, her thoughts so loud, he could hear the gears in her head turning.

The silence was deafening. He imagined this very moment to be the happiest one in his life so far, but it was becoming more and more clear to him that that just might not be the case. The blank look on her face that he saw so clearly in her reflection in the window told him all he needed to know.

Ethan never was a man to cry. If he imagined anyone crying, it would be her, and only because he knows she tends to get emotional in moments like these. Now, facing the reality of her rejection, his eyes stung, and his hands shook beyond his control. His eyes fell shut, shoulders falling in defeat, and it was at this moment that Claire’s muscles gave back the control to her, allowing her to notice his expression. Realizing what was happening and how her silence sounded to him, she spun in his embrace rapidly. Tears of her own appeared in her eyes when she saw how broken he was when he thought she rejected him, shaking her head in great haste.

“Have you thought this through?” she asked, a pretty valid question if she could say so herself. The wild determination in his eyes made her not question him, though.

“I want to marry you, dammit.”

Their eyes met in a stare that lasted for a lifetime and a day more. Everything left unsaid was spoken through this one gaze, this one act of love that so many people overlooked, dismissed. The quiet and peace and understanding they had for each other was enough.

Claire moved her hands to the sides of his face, stroking his cheeks with her thumbs softly. She then pulled him closer, their foreheads touching. He held her like he was never going to let her go, like she was there to stay; because she was. It was her place on earth, her home, her sense of security, and all of that was reflected in her for him. Both of them sobbed when she muttered her answer.

“ _Yes.”_

He let her go for a moment and went to his bag, taking a small box out.

“I don’t want you to fall down on one knee.” She muttered, grabbing his hand and pulling him right back to her side. The ring caught just enough light in the almost dark room to display the diamond, standing out proudly when it finally rested on her finger.

“Claire Anaïs Ramsey. Sounds perfect, if you ask me.”

“How do you- Aunt Silene.” Her eyes widened when he mentioned her second name, and then realization smoothed out the line on her forehead. Ethan ran his finger around the ring, raising her hand to his lips to press a soft kiss to it.

“It’s after midnight.” He noticed when his eyes caught the sight of the clock. Sure enough, it was fourteen minutes into the next day. “Happy Birthday, Claire.”

“I love you so much.”

\--------------

The sound of screams woke them up the next morning. His arm was wrapped tightly around her, his face buried in her shoulder. Slowly, the world began to bleed into his consciousness, pulling him away from the tranquility the sleep provided.

Their midnight conversation felt like a dream until he saw the ring, shining in the morning sun, his chest swelling with pride and uncontained happiness. Lacing their fingers together, he gave her hand a squeeze.

“Good morning, my love.” He muttered into her ear, kissing the skin behind it. A short giggle of hers reached him as she snuggled closer into him.

“Good morning indeed.”

“Happy birthday.”

“You already wished me happy birthday.” Claire pointed out, turning to the over side so she could look at him. His arms wrapped around her securely, keeping her close to him.

“I’m so happy you said ‘yes’.” He tried again, watching how her face lit up at the mention of their engagement. “It’s a good thing I did ask your Dad for his permission after all.”

“Wait, he knew?” shock was spelled in her features, trying to remember when he could have possibly done that.

“Well, he did say it as an off-hand comment, but when I approached him later on, he said that it was pretty much obvious what I was about to ask. We did talk about it, though.” He still felt the nerves when the words left his mouth, and the sheer panic when Ryan didn’t say anything for a long moment.

“Did you cry?” she teased him, snaking her hand up the side of his neck and tangling her fingers into his hair to pull him down onto her. Their lips met in a slow, lazy kiss, neither rushing into it, taking their time to explore.

His hand moved down her back, sneaking beneath the material of his shirt that she slept in. His touch left a trail of goosebumps on her skin. She rolled them over, straddling him as the kiss deepened, a quiet groan slipping from him.

“I’m going to count to five and then I’m entering the room. You two better be decent, I’m too young and beautiful to die!” Will’s voice came from the over side of the door, bursting their bubble. Claire let out a long breath, annoyed, and leaned out of bed to grab a pillow. They sat down in bed, both pulling on their clothes and hair to make themselves somewhat presentable.

The door flew open and her brother’s face came into the view.

“Five! Are you two done having s- hey!” he started saying, then was shut up when a pillow encountered his face. When he could see again, he saw a satisfied smirk on his sister’s face, who was leaning against her boyfriend.

“If you think that just because I’m a year older, I am above dunking a bucket of ice-cold water on you when you’re asleep, think again, William.” She warned, making a ‘get out’ sign with her hand.

“The breakfast is ready, birthday girl. Also, please stay away from my bed, I value it. I love it, you wouldn’t kill my love, would you?”

“How old are you again?” she leaned her head to the side, grinning at him. “We’ll be downstairs in a moment.”

When the door closed, she turned around to look at Ethan. His eyebrow was raised in a silent question.

“Yes, I did throw a bucket of water on him while he was sleeping. On more than one occasion.”

\--------------

“Do we just tell them or let them notice?” Ethan pulled her away from the entrance to the kitchen for a moment, unsure how to proceed. She pondered upon his words and then a mischievous grin took over her features.

“Let them figure it out. I’ve got a plan in mind.”

They walked into the room holding hands, but it didn’t last long, as everyone took turns to come up to her and hug her. Claire was immediately sat in the loveseat in the center of the room, a glass of champagne in hand.

“Little sis’, I’ve got your birthday cake here, I’ll do my best to not trip.” Will exclaimed as he approached her, placing the platter on the table next to her seat.

Twenty-eight candles were lit, illuminating her face when she leaned in to blow them out. She closed her eyes, listening to her family’s cheers. After that, they all took turns giving her gifts, until it was only Ethan left. Claire already got her gift from him, so her face must have been a pretty picture when she saw him stand up from his seat and leave the room. When he came back, she moved over so she could pull him into the seat with her. He handed her a small box, enjoying how confused about it all she was.

“You might need it for when we’re back in Boston.” He nodded towards the present, encouraging her to open it. Inside, she found the keys to his apartment and all the locations linked to it, along with a pastel pink bow, similar to the one she sometimes wore with her shirt.

“Dude, you give her the access to your apartment? How the hell were we supposed to top that?” subtle as always, Will threw his hands up in frustration.

“I’d get used to losing to this guy when it came to her if I were you, son.” Ryan chuckled, watching the pair with contentment in his eyes. Lucrecia didn’t know about the conversation her husband had with Ethan, so she was as surprised as everyone else when Claire placed her hand on his cheek and kissed him, displaying the ring on her finger. A collective gasp rang in the room, and then a second round of cheers erupted.

“You’re kidding!” Lara screeched, jumping up and down in her seat. She ran to the pair, grabbing their hands and looking at them seriously. “Can I be the flower girl?”

Ethan ruffled her hair, smiling widely. Claire nodded, tickling her cousin with her free hand. “Sure thing. Will can help you.” when her brother started protesting, she added with a wicked smile. “I’ll even get you two tiaras.”


End file.
